Chapter 191 (Cleaned) – The Demise of the Demon G.o.d
Editor: Wenderu
Steina had an indescribable strange feeling with the scene laid in front of her eyes.
Perhaps the closest thing was when she was dreaming. There was no realism in the flames dancing or the sword flashing. Even if she knew that her body was controlling the flames, she could also feel the other side’s affairs.
However, it might be correct in a sense. Although she still had consciousness, it wasn’t possible to even open and close the eyelids. No matter how close she was to the person concerned or rather the person himself. It was impossible to feel the reality.
Even so, it might still be better if she could feel pain as before. No, not at all to feel pain, but realistically speaking, that would make her feel better. But at this moment, she couldn’t feel any pain at all. Moreover, even the kind of malice that had been going on for a long time had disappeared. It was no exaggeration to say that there was no evidence to prove that this wasn’t a dream.
And most importantly, there was a problem with the involved person. He was a boy whom she knew. He was swinging his sword in his hand and slicing the flames. Every time he swung his sword, his jet-black flutter, and his jet-black eyes stared and kept at her eyes. It was as if she had just imagined it.
And that was why Steina believed that this must be a dream. Did she lose consciousness for some reason… or perhaps, she had already died?
It was strange if it wasn’t. Otherwise, it didn’t make sense.
The reality was always ruthless and cruel. The world wasn’t kind and miracles didn’t happen. Unreasonably, the world called reality only spread there.
In that sense, Steina was rather lucky. She was a homunculus that was born as a subst.i.tute for the body of the Demon King, and when it was found that the duty couldn’t be fulfilled, she was abandoned after going through various tests. She was eventually picked up by her adoptive father and she was able to live a normal life. It was a life that was too much for her.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like it, but it felt that it was her fault after all. She gave up the kindness that gave her such a life, taking the responsibility on her own accord, and did rather poorly. Be that as it may… if she thought this as a matter of paying her own mistakes, this ending was well deserved. Really, that was all there was to it.
That was why help was unlikely to reach her. Moreover, this shouldn’t be a place for people to come, other than this was some kind of convenient fantasy.
“Ha-hahahaha! What is this… it’s only your mouth that is strong.” (Nicholas)
It was at that time that such a voice was heard.
There was no mistake that it belonged to Nicholas, but his figure wasn’t nearby. He was retreating to the rear, probably because he was afraid of Soma.
Until now, he hadn’t spoken any words, but… apparently, he had regained focus. He continues to speak with a sense of superiority in his voice.
“You seem to be able to suppress the Demon G.o.d’s attack, but is that the best you can do? How about the might of our Demon G.o.d? You know… you shouldn’t make light of it.” (Nicholas)
Steina bit her teeth in her mind and wanted to exhale a breath because she thought that this must be a dream. As a matter of fact, the attack by the Demon G.o.d was certainly amazing. More flames directed to him compared to his adoptive father, but there were all sliced at once. Not to mention to Steina, even those Special Rank holders wouldn’t be able to survive properly from that. Although Soma and Iori talked about various matters, she thought that this existence had the name of G.o.d.
It was true that Soma was slicing all attacks, but that was the only thing Soma did. He hadn’t attack and he only sliced all incoming flames. In other words, they were even and that was why Nicholas showed openings.
However, Soma’s ability shouldn’t be that much. She had never seen Soma fighting seriously, but on the other hand, she could guess that Soma was serious and she wasn’t imagining things. There was no way that they were on equal footing.
Even though this was surely a dream, it wasn’t possible for Soma to win against it even if they were evenly matched.
Then, this would save Steina. Yes. It was because it wasn’t good.
All of this was way too convenient. That was why Steina was thinking like this.
She didn’t know whether this was a dream, but she didn’t want to be saved. What mattered most was that she was going to take the responsibility and die…
“Hmm… well, I guess so. Certainly, some corrections are needed.” (Soma)
“Yes, yes. Indeed. To begin with, as you can see, most of Steina-sama’s body has been taken over by the Demon G.o.d. Even if you attack it, it can’t be harmed. If not, it’s synonymous with hurting her. I don’t know whether you know Steina-sama or not, but you don’t want to be a friend to the former Hero, right? If you understand, give it up already–…” (Nicholas)
“…I never thought that it would be much lower than my expectation.” (Soma)
“…Yes?” (Nicholas)
It was at the moment when he said that…
At least, Steina didn’t know what had happened. She just felt something glowed, and it felt like it had pa.s.sed around her right shoulder. Immediately after that, she felt something was wrong with her right arm… it was just that something familiar was flying in her sight.
If it wasn’t her imagination, it was her right arm.
“Wha…!?” (Nicholas)
Steina felt a bit amused because Nicholas was the one who raised his voice after seeing it. Well, she couldn’t speak by her own will, but it wasn’t clear if Steina had said anything at that time. After all, even if she knew that it was her arm, she didn’t think beyond that.
“You fool! Just now… no, are you crazy!? Far from being reluctant to harm her, you are actively harming her…! Are you giving up since you can’t save her anymore..!?” (Nicholas)
It was rather interesting to find that Nicholas was talking impatiently.
To begin with, it was strange for Nicholas to consider about her from the beginning. He was the one who ordered it, so why did he say such a thing?
Well, it was obvious that he was doing it for self protection. Soma also didn’t care about it.
Still, Steina was thinking about the matter of someone else because she still had no sense of reality. Anyhow, she couldn’t see the origin of her arm, and… above all, there was no pain. The thought that this was all a dream became stronger. It was good if she was killed by Soma instead of being killed by the Demon G.o.d, but she wondered would she be saved by that. While thinking that…
“Guhaa—!!!” (??)
Steina couldn’t understand for a moment whose cry that was. Immediately after understanding that the understanding went far away again because of the sight and feel reflected in the field of vision.
The voice came out from her mouth. It was the Demon G.o.d, but… it was fine. If her arm was cut, the Demon G.o.d might feel the pain.
So, the problem was that the screaming Demon G.o.d was holding her right hand with her left hand. Yes… she was sliced, but for some reason the right hand was there.
Moreover, Steina, who had no sense of her whole body, had a feeling that her right arm was being grasped.
“Wha.. the right hand…!? It’s definitely there, but why…!?” (Nicholas)
Nicholas was also late at noticing it. He was noisy, but as expected, Steina didn’t understand why.
The reason why she was thinking about someone else’s affairs until now is because she couldn’t feel anything about her body. Once the sensation had been given, she could no longer think about someone else’s affairs. It was safe to say that Steina was still in the midst of confusion until now.
This should also be a dream, but what exactly was it? No, this means… it couldn’t be true, but…
“Hmm, it feels better that you seem confused, but… well, it doesn’t matter. It looks like it was going as intended, and it was worth the time I spent observing it for a while.” (Soma)
“Were you aiming for that!? b.a.s.t.a.r.d, what are you trying to do…!?” (Nicholas)
“I’m going to tell you plain and simple, alright? For starters, no matter what you say, I didn’t do something difficult. You see. Steina is possessed by the Demon G.o.d or something and she is almost a.s.similated. That said, she isn’t completely a.s.similated. So, what I did was slicing the arm of the Demon G.o.d or something. It’s rather easier to aim for it because of the a.s.similation, you know?” (Soma)
“Ho-how can that be…!?” (Nicholas)
“By the way, the slashed arm looked almost similar to Steina’s arm is probably because it was a.s.similating. No, I thought of it for a moment, but it seemed to be fine.” (Soma)
Soma said it as if it were a matter of course, but obviously, there was no such thing. Nicholas’ reaction was right, but… Soma was doing his own things as always.
Although it wasn’t possible to recover from the confusion yet, Steina was convinced of one thing. She didn’t even consider such a random thing like this to happen.
In short…. even though this was unbelievable, this wasn’t a dream. It was happening in reality.
[—!!!] (Demon G.o.d)
Immediately after that, a roar that she didn’t recognize reverberated.
It was the Demon G.o.d’s. While the right arm is still dangling, it pointed a sharp gaze towards Soma.
Far from waning, the fighting spirit seemed to have increased. The gaze contained more hatred, and the intensity of the surrounding flames increased in response to that.
Strangely enough, Steina was clearly aware of it. She had never felt the intention of the Demon G.o.d until now, but she could understand it clearly from the view of the Demon G.o.d.
The boy in front of her could easily deliver death to the Demon G.o.d.
“Hmm… it’s good to be energetic, but unfortunately, I don’t intend to let it go further. I’m concerned about what’s going on. So, I will end this as it is.” (Soma)
Soma didn’t a.s.sume a stance while saying that. He merely looked at her. However, even though it was just that, there was a terrible chill. And the one who felt that was the Demon G.o.d. It was because of the a.s.similation, the Demon G.o.d, whose strength could be felt on the skin, was scared just by being seen.
Really, how ridiculous was this.
[—!!!] (Demon G.o.d)
Nevertheless, the Demon G.o.d didn’t withdraw. It might be its pride to hold the position. It roared, ignited flames with momentum that far exceeded the scale of the past attack, throwing it all at once–…
“…Flash.” (Soma)
That was the end. She didn’t know what had happened. All she knew was that she felt something was shining and it went through her neck.
And then… At the next moment, at the same time as all the flames were extinguished, the Demon G.o.d’s neck was flying in the air.